


Little Curious Archer

by Enixam1994



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 01:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18680932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enixam1994/pseuds/Enixam1994
Summary: Robin is always getting in trouble for pulling faces at the other kids. They always tell on her to their parents, and then Zelena would be quick to tell her off for it. That is, until this one girl does the opposite and pulls a face back at her.





	Little Curious Archer

   The park was pretty empty that evening. Most of the kids having head home after the winds began to pick up, but there were still a few hanging around, either begging their guardians to let them have “just five more minutes” or whose parents were too caught in their conversations to even notice the temperature drop. Of course, even with the chilly air surrounding them, the sun was still beaming overhead; shining down so brightly that it was deceiving for anyone not paying full attention to the rest of their surroundings. And among those people filling the open space with all the other parents and children and babysitters alike, was Zelena Mills and her six year old daughter, Robin.

   For the last fifteen minutes, Zelena had been caught in a conversation with Belle Gold on the edge of the park, sitting on one of the old brown wooden benches with their coats drawn tightly and their purses sat between them. Belle’s son, Gideon, was running around with a group of other boys all playing tag. Nearly all of them were cheating but no one seemed to notice – not even the boys themselves as they ducked around the swing set, jumped over the bottom of the slide and swung dramatically on the round-a-bouts, propelling themselves to safety away from the person still currently ‘It’. Meanwhile, Zelena’s daughter was stood off to the side, finishing off the last of a peanut butter cup that her mother had given her after Robin had whined for ten solid minutes about being hungry.

   Because of the cold weather, Zelena had insisted Robin wear her big dark green coat over the top of her purple jumper and brown trousers. But even the thick furry lining did little to protect the young girl from the many grass blades sticking to her and the flower petals that had somehow gotten themselves tangled in her tight braids. And on top of that, she had managed to escape the house and get all the way to the park before Zelena noticed that under her worn purple trainers, Robin had put on odd socks (a yellow one with miniature bow and arrows along it and a purple one with large green frogs on).

   Every part of her clothing had been tilted and twisted during the original fun, but by now all of Robin’s friends had gone home, and she didn’t want to play with the other kids left over, giving Zelena a quick amount of time to try and straighten her out. However even after she had been all fixed up, Robin still hadn’t rejoined the rest of the kids, choosing to take her time with her butter cup instead since a lot of them were older than her and the rest were boys and Robin hated boys. Lately, they always pulled her hair and kicked over the sand castles she made. Zelena would just say it was because they _liked_ liked Robin, but Robin had a feeling it was more to do with the fact that she had drawn on most of their faces with a black marker during nap time in day care a few weeks back. Which was a stupid reason, really, because the things Robin had drawn had been funny! All the girls told her so.

   As Robin finished off the last of her peanut butter cup, she wandered away from her mother to one of the empty swings in the corner, climbing on before a big kid could snag it for themselves. She began kicking her legs, poorly, and after a few seconds she finally began to rock back and forth. Still, it wasn’t nearly fast or high enough and she looked over her shoulder to where her mother was still gossiping away with Auntie Belle.

   “MUM!” Robin shouted. “Come push me! MUM!”

   “In a minute, Robin!” Zelena called, not even glancing back to look at her.

   “MUM!” Robin complained, kicking her legs angrily.

   This time Zelena didn’t even bother calling back to her, instead saying something to Belle who nodded her head with strong enthusiasm. Over by the slide, Gideon was climbing up the slide and leaving muddy footprints behind, upsetting the girls – Alexandra and Briar – who wanted to go down it. Robin watched as he pushed passed them and then ran to the monkey bars, only to slip and fall down hard to the ground, landing onto his hands and knees. Before Belle could even look up and see what had happened, Gideon was jumping back onto his feet and running again, not even pausing to brush the dirt off of his knees.

   Moaning loudly in annoyance, Robin continued kicking her legs, making herself rock more than swing, and glared ahead of her, waiting for her mother to finally give her some attention. She hated when Zelena met with friends. She all but ignored Robin and whoever she met with never had kids her own age – save for Belle and Gideon, but Robin and Gideon had a falling out and weren’t friends any more. And they never would be again, as far as young Robin was concerned.

   Robin was still waving from side to side as much as she was back and forth and looking out over the faces of the other kids when she caught sight of one of them staring back. Most of the other kids were all distracted with the friends or playing games on the jungle gym or even watching their parent’s adult conversations with blank faces from not understanding a single word being said, yet no doubt pretending they did later.

   However this girl was not playing or with her friends or even her family. Instead she was stood by herself, next to the sea saw and staring straight back at Robin. Robin didn’t recognise her, but then Robin was still young enough to not recognise half the people in Storybrooke just yet. The girl was around the same age as Robin was, with blonde hair a little lighter shaded than Robin’s and much more unruly, curled and standing out on every end like it hadn’t been brushed in days. Even from a distance, Robin could see she had bright blue eyes and a faint patch of dirt over her nose with worn plasters over the top of her knees and along the bottom of her palms, dressed in a blue and white frock and a dark blue coat over the top with grey fur around the hands and hood that matched the grey of her thick rubbery boots.

   The girl stared straight at Robin with a curious expression on her face, and immediately Robin did what she always did whenever she caught someone staring at her. She pulled a face at them. It was her ultimate weapon! She did it to everyone, no matter how many times she got in trouble for it. And she did always get in trouble since every kid she did it to always tattled on her to their parents, each time without fail, like everyone in town were being raised to be goodie two shoes. Even Neal, who was normally so much fun, ratted on her for it at his birthday last week.

   So Robin stuck her tongue out at the other girl and frowned, slightly squinting her eyes and waiting for the inevitable scream as the girl went running to her mum or dad, squeezing out as many crocodile tears in order to get maximum sympathy. Robin was even readying herself to deny it – knowing full well Zelena wouldn’t believe her when she did but Robin had always been unwilling to go down without a fight.

   But instead of doing any of that, the girl surprised her by sticking out her tongue in return without hesitation. Only she threw out her’s much further than Robin, almost like she was gagging on it.

   It was such a surprise that Robin momentarily paused, sucking her tongue back into her mouth and blinking at her. She even glanced around to see if anyone else had saw it happen but no one was paying attention and Zelena was still too busy talking with Belle. When Robin looked back, the girl had also sucked her tongue back into her mouth and had the same curious expression back on her face, still blankly staring back at Robin, same as before like nothing had happened.

   With a frown, Robin re-stuck her tongue out and reached up, using her finger to pull down the skin under one of her eyes, wrinkling her nose again as she did. The girl stared at her, then re-stuck out her own tongue as well as crossing her eyes at her.

   So Robin pulled the skin under the other eye down and opened her mouth wide like she was showing off each of her teeth. And in response, the girl reached up and pinched the skin from the corner of her eyes to the corner of her mouth, and even went so far as to use her little fingers on each hand to push her nose up, giving her a resemblance to a pig.

   Robin, never one to be outdone but quickly running out of ideas, copied her (though she couldn’t quite figure out how the other girl pushed her nose up and keep her cheeks pinched without her hands getting in the way) and, as if to add her own touch, tilted her head to the side at the same time.

   They held it there for a moment, each staring at one another when suddenly the girl let go of her face and began laughing. The sound was drowned out by most of the other kids, but her joyful bright expression was contagious enough and Robin found she could no longer hold her pose either. Letting her hands fall back to the chains of the swing either side of her, Robin laughed as well, the laughter growing harder and harder the longer they went on.

   It took them a few minutes – and Robin nearly falling off of the swing – before they calmed down. When they had, Robin smiled at the girl and was relieved when she smiled back. She was just considering going over and asking if she wanted to play. Maybe they could use the sea-saw she was still standing close to. But before she could, the girl reached up and pulled her lip up, showing her upper teeth and gums.

     Quickly, Robin reached up and pulled on her bottom lip, showing her teeth and gums while also tilting her head again. She tried copying the girl’s cross eyes but couldn’t quite manage it.

   “Robin!” Zelena hissed, appearing at her side and snatching Robin’s hand from her face, forcing her to return to normal. “Would you stop doing that! Keep it up and I’ll have aunt Regina magic your face so it’s stuck like that.”

   Robin, blinking up at her mother, grinned. “That’d be cool!”

   Zelena stood up, rolling her eyes. “Of course you’d think so. Come on, we’re going home. If you can’t behave then you can’t stay out and play.”

   “What? NO!” Robin moaned, looking back over to the girl. She was looking a little shell shocked and unsure, hovering on the spot with her hands swinging by her side.

   Before Robin could say anything else, Zelena had begun pulling on her arm, dragging her off the swing and back over to the bench. Robin fought back, but she was five and Zelena was her mother. Despite her efforts, she managed very little resistance.

   “Sorry, Belle. We’re going to have to head home until Robin can learn her manners.” Zelena said strictly.

   Belle smiled softly up at her. “It’s fine. We’ll meet up later in the week for lunch.”

   Smiling, Zelena nodded at Belle before turning and frowning down at Robin. “Come on, you.”

   “But mum!” Robin whined, still pulling to free herself.

   “I said come ON, Robin!” Zelena snapped, grabbing her purse and dragging Robin from the park. Robin tried glancing back but the odd girl was lost among the other kids. And soon she was shoved inside the back of the car with nothing else to do but sulk and pout the whole way home.

**O*U*A*T**

   The next week, Robin was grounded and not allowed to leave the house for pulling faces. Apart from day care and the occasional shopping trip, Robin was forced to do nothing but play with her dolls, read her books, watch the occasional television and listen to endless lectures about why being a naughty girl was never going to get her a “happy ending”. Robin always responded that she didn’t care about having a happy ending. She just wanted a fun one. But her mother just huffed and said she was too young and naive to understand and walked away.

   However Zelena couldn’t keep Robin locked up for all her childhood and eventually relented to take Robin to Granny’s for a meal. Robin liked it at Granny’s because she made Robin’s favourite meat pies! No matter what else was going on, she always had the best time there.

   Even if it meant she had to suffer through her mother dressing her. Zelena said the benefit of having a daughter was treating her like a doll and dressing her up however she pleased – completely ignoring Robin’s own personal preferences at the same time. Today she had forced Robin into a white blouse with a knee length lime green skirt and matching green dolly shoes (also making sure Robin’s white cotton socks matched this time round). The only victory Robin had was her mother put her hair in a pair of twin plaits, draping down behind her ears, and even then she made her include a green headband with a green apple on the side that looked like it had a bite taken out of it.

   “Oh my god!” Belle squealed when she saw her. “Robin, you look adorable!”

   Robin pouted her misery but Belle had already moved on to hug Zelena, waving her to a seat in a booth closest to the door. Rumplestiltskin was already sitting, and looked none too happy at Zelena’s arrival but he had long since accepted that she was one of his wife’s closest friends and the two insisted on spending plenty of time with one another. Normally he found excuses to get out of joining them, but spontaneous visits like today were impossible to avoid.

   Robin didn’t know what to think about Rumplestiltskin. He was one of those weird dad’s that the other kids didn’t have much to do with. Even Robin, who saw him every week and twice as much when she and Gideon were friends didn’t always feel comfortable around him. So instead of focusing on him, Robin turned to glance around the diner, looking for a friendly face. Sadly none of her friends appeared to be here today.

   “Mum, I want pie.” Robin complained.

   “It’s coming, Robin.” Zelena said, waving at her impatiently. “Go play with Gideon while you wait.”

   Robin scowled but the look went unnoticed by everyone but Rumplestiltskin, and even he only smirked at it. But when her only other option was to hang around and listen to grown up stuff... Well that was even worse!

   So Robin turned and wandered towards the counter, not looking for Gideon but hoping maybe someone else was around for her to play with. Not Emma. She used to be fun but since she had Hope she’d become boring like everyone else. Maybe Henry? He was always lots of fun! And he didn’t push her away like the other people older than her did.

   After wandering around the small diner, Robin found she was out of luck for the most part. The only other people around were all grown up’s or older kids who wouldn’t want to play with her. She’d been excited about coming out but now was alone and bored. At least at home she could have played with her toys. She hadn’t even thought to bring any with her when she had come out.

   “Robin?” Gideon appeared where Robin was leaning by the front door, pouting at the room like it was to blame for her boredom.

   “What?” Robin blinked, looking at the lanky boy beside her. Already his clothes looked like they were too small for him, despite them being new presents for his recent birthday, and his hair was getting floppy because he refused to let his mother cut it. Robin used to like that he got away with so much against his parents, but as of late it just made her jealous. Why couldn’t her mum be like that?

    “What’s that in your hair? It looks funny!” Gideon grinned, reaching over and poking the apple headband.

   “Get off!” Robin snapped, slapping him away.

   “I just wanted to see it.” Gideon shrugged.

   “Well you can’t! It’s mine so leave it alone!” Robin didn’t even like the dumb headband. But she was still mad at Gideon though she couldn’t really remember why any more. “Go away!” Robin stuck her tongue out at him and wrinkled her nose.

   Almost like it was a pattern by now – which it kind of was – Gideon immediately went wide eyed, already turning as he shouted back at her; “I’m telling!”

   Great. Now Zelena was going to drag Robin home before she had her pie. That wasn’t fair. Gideon was touching her headband and her mum taught her that you don’t touch things that aren’t yours. He should be in trouble, not her...

   Then again, she also said you shouldn’t waste food, either. If Robin avoided being caught before the pie was ready, her mum wouldn’t want her to waste it. She’d _have_ to wait until Robin had eaten it before they could leave.

   Now Robin just needed to hide until the pie was ready!

   Glancing around, Robin quickly opened the door and slipped outside, even while she could still hear Gideon shouting for Belle. As soon as the door shut behind her, the noise quietened and was replaced by the fierce rush of wind. It was even worse than last week and Robin shivered. They had driven here and the diner was normally kept very warm so Zelena hadn’t bothered to pack her a coat, leaving her arms and legs bare against the icy breeze. But still, that just meant the hot meat pie would taste even better when it was ready!

   Rubbing her arms, Robin moved to stand out of the way of the door, crouching under the windows so Zelena wouldn’t catch sight of her. There, she stood and began to try and not think about the cold so much. She didn’t know how long a meat pie took to make, but a couple of hours sounded about right. That wasn’t too long to wait.

   Robin was so distracted by the cold, she almost didn’t notice her. Even when she was standing directly across the street.

   The girl from the park.

   She stood, in the exact same clothes with the exact same unruly tangled hair and the exact same bright blue eyes curiously watching Robin in silence. Instantly Robin stood up straighter. She started to smile then hesitated. The girl wasn’t smiling at her, and she wondered if she even remembered her...

   Then the girl reached up and pulled at the corner of each eye lid, pulling her eyes into slits and sticking out her tongue while also flipping it upwards towards her nose. Instantly Robin grinned and reached up. Soon she had one of her eyes pulled upwards while the other was pulled down and she stuck out her tongue, curling it in the way Henry had taught her to. She expected their game pulling faces to continue like last time, but then the girl let her face go and giggled, checking the road was clear before she ran across the street towards her.

   Up close, the girl was even messier than Robin remembered. Her dress was torn along the skirt area and the dirty and dust that covered her cheeks, stretched up over her forehead as well as her nose. There were also a series of clumps and knots in her hair which was why it stood up on so many ends. But none of that put Robin off. Instead she found herself grinning along with her and waiting as they girl wandered up close.

   Before Robin could say hi, the girl put her hands behind her back and looked down at her feet, digging the toes of her right foot into the grass. “Sorry.” She said. “I didn’t mean to get you into trouble.”

   “It’s okay. My mum’s a bummy!” Robin said.

   The girl looked up and giggled at her. “Bummy-head!”

   Suddenly they both broke into giggles. A shadow passed overhead from behind the window and Robin instantly ducked, but the shadow vanished as quickly as it appeared.

   “Are you okay?” The girl asked, blinking down at her.

   “I’m hiding from my mum.” Robin explained. “So she won’t take me home before I have pie.”

   “Oh.” The girl suddenly ducked and moved to stand beside her under the window, crouching so they were close together. “Why will she take you home?”

   “I was pulling faces at a boy.” Robin explained. “Mum says it’s not nice.”

   The girl cocked her head to the side. “Why?”

   Robin hesitated, unsure of exactly the answer. So in the end she just said what she had always been told. “If the wind changes, it’ll get stuck.”

   The girl frowned harder. “Why would the wind change?”

   “Uh... Cause of magic.” Robin shrugged. That was her go to answer. When in doubt – magic explained everything.

   “Oh! I know magic!” The girl grinned.

   “You do?” Robin blinked.

   “Yeah! Watch this!” The girl crouched down and held her hands out, face down over the grass.

   Robin hesitated before crouching down beside her and watching in silence. After a second the ground seemed to shift and suddenly a small purple flower broke through the dry dirt, lifting up and opening like it was a warm summer day.

   “Oh wow!” Robin gasped. “That’s really magic!”

   The girl beamed happily at Robin’s praise. And Robin really was impressed. Even though she knew lots of people who did magic, none of them were her age. Some kids pretended they did, like Gideon, but none of them really could do it when Robin had challenged them. They always made up excuses and ran away, then complained if she called them liars.

   Just then the wind picked up and Robin shivered, wrapping her arms completely around herself as best as she could and tucking her knees up to her chest. She looked at the girl and stood back into a crouch, still keeping low under the window.

   “Don’t you have any other clothes?” Robin asked.

   “No.” The girl shrugged, copying her in a crouching position. “Do you?”

   “Yeah. I have lots and lots of clothes. How come you don’t?” Robin asked.

   The girl shrugged again. “I just don’t got any. I left them behind.”

   “Oh. Well. I can give you some of mine if you want.” Robin said.

   “Really?” The girl’s blue eyes widened.

   “Yeah. Like I said, I got lots!” Robin explained.

   “I’d like to have lots of clothes.” The girl said wistfully.

   “Does your mum not buy you any?” Robin asked.

   “I don’t have a mum.”

   “Oh...” Robin hesitated. “I don’t have a dad. But I have a mum. Do you have a dad?”

   “Yeah.” The girl nodded.

   “Is he here?” Robin asked. “Why doesn’t he buy you clothes?”

   “He isn’t here.” The girl explained. “He had to go away for a while.”

   “So you’re alone?” Robin blinked.

   The girl looked confused and smiled. “No. I’m with you!”

   That was true. Robin grinned at her. “Well you can have some of my clothes. I don’t really like some of them so I don’t mind giving them away. Until your dad comes back. Then he can buy you lots of clothes.”

   Before the girl could answer, the door was thrown open and Zelena appeared. Instantly, Robin grabbed the girl’s wrist and pulled her around the corner of the diner, out of sight.

   “ROBIN!” Zelena screamed. “COME OUT RIGHT NOW!”

   “Who’s that?” The girl whispered fearfully.

   Robin didn’t like her being scared, so she ducked down and whispered; “That’s bummy-head-mum.”

   “Oh...” The girl blinked. “She looks mad.”

   “She’s always mad.” Robin said, rolling her eyes. “Come on, quick, before she spots us.”

   Taking her hand, Robin began to lead the girl away, guiding her along the wall of the diner while Zelena continued to call out for her. The girl followed her without question, staying low until they were on the other side of the building and far out of view.

   “We’ll be safe here.” Robin said, staying crouched even though there weren’t any windows above them anymore.

   The girl sat down crossed legged on the grass and smiled up at her. “Why don’t you have a dad?”

   Robin hesitated, then sat down beside her. “I dunno. Mum said he went away when I was a baby to be a hero and that he can’t come back.” She paused, thinking it over for a moment. “My auntie says he still loves me and he’s watching over me. I just can’t see him.”

   The girl tilted her head at her. “Like a ghost?”

   “Auntie says he’s like an angel.” Robin said, then looked at the girl and grinned. “But a ghost would be way cooler!”

   “You have a ghost daddy.” The girl giggled.

   Robin giggled with her. “What about you? How come you don’t have a mum?”

   “I dunno.” The girl said thoughtfully. “I never had. It was just me and my papa for always.”

   “Do you want one?” Robin asked. “My cousin Henry didn’t have a mum at first. Then my auntie adopted him and then his other mum came to town and now he has two!”

   “Does he have a papa?” The girl asked.

   “Um. No. His dad went away, too.” Robin explained, pouting slightly. She hadn’t thought about it before but now realised Henry had a ghost dad too. No fair. Robin liked the idea of being the only one with a ghost dad.

   The girl seemed to consider things for a moment. “I’d rather have my papa than two mummies.”

   Robin nodded at her. “Can you use your magic to bring your papa home?”

   The girl shook her head. “No. I tried but it doesn’t work.”

   “Maybe you have to be older?” Robin suggested.

   “Maybe... I hope I get older soon.” The girl said.

   “Me too. When I’m older, I’m gonna leave.” Robin said excitedly. “I’m gonna go all over and see all the places and have fun every day!”

   “Why don’t you now?” The girl asked.

   “Mum won’t let me.” Robin pouted.

   The girl blinked, glancing over her shoulder where Zelena could still be heard screaming for her daughter. When she looked back at Robin, she giggled again. “Bummy-head.”

   The two burst into more giggles, huddling together and covering their mouths in order to keep quiet, though the wind most certainly kept them hidden from Zelena. They stayed crouching there, trying not to laugh while Zelena shouted her daughter’s name over and over again, sounding more frantic with every call. But despite her mother’s worry, Robin was having too much fun to go out now.

   “I like your hair.” The girl said when they had finally calmed down.

   “I like _yours_.” Robin said, reaching over and patting the girl’s wild twists.

   “I wish we could swap.” The girl giggled.

   “Here.” Robin got onto her knees, reaching and pulling one of her pig tails out. She then began to grab fistfuls of the girl’s hair and twist it around like she saw her mum do every morning from her view in the mirror. Though Zelena made it look much easier when she did it. In the end she made more of a twisted clump than an actual plait, but Robin was never one to admit failure. Instead she kept at it and then used her hair tie to wrap it all together. It was still as much a mess as before, just with a hair tie in it, but still Robin sat back and waved her hands proudly in display. “Done!”

   The girl reached up, touching her hair with a soft expression on her face that quickly broke into another wide happy smile. “Thank you!”

   “You can keep my hair tie.” Robin said. “I already have this one.” She pointed to the half of her hair still in its plait.

   The girl’s eyes and smile couldn’t possibly get any wider. So, as if to compensate, she threw herself on Robin, wrapping her arms around Robin’s neck and hugging her tightly. Robin was a little surprised – and got a mouthful of hair as she did – but quickly brushed the strands aside and hugged her back.

   When the girl pulled away, she was still grinning at her. “Thank you!” She repeated, wide eyed with joy.

   “It’s okay.” Robin smiled.

   “ROBIN!”

   “Was that bummy-head?” The girl asked, glancing back when she realised the voice sounded different now.

   “No. That’s my auntie!” Robin beamed, standing up and running off. “Auntie Regina!” She temporarily forgot about the girl she was leaving behind in favour of her close family and ran straight back into the street. There she found not just Zelena and Regina looking for her, but Belle, Rumplestiltskin, Ruby, Dorothy and Granny out as well.

   “ROBIN!” Zelena snapped, grabbing her before she could give Regina a hug. “Where the hell did you run off to?!”

   Completely ignoring her mother’s anger, Robin suddenly remembered the girl. “Oh! I made a friend.” She looked back but the girl hadn’t followed her around the building. “She doesn’t have any clothes so I said she could borrow mine.” She reached up, touching half the hair now hanging loose. “I also gave her my tie. Cause she wanted hair like mine. And I want hair like hers.” She grabbed her mother’s hand between both of her own and pulled on her. “Come on, mum! I’ll show you! Then you can do my hair like hers.”

   “Wait, she doesn’t have any clothes?” Regina blinked.

   “Come on!” Robin said impatiently, pulling her mother along.

   While Granny, Ruby and Dorothy returned to continue taking care of their diner, Belle and Regina followed Robin and her mother. Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes and waited for them out front, watching Robin pull Zelena around the back of the building as quickly as her little legs could go. She turned the corner and let go of her mother’s hand, eagerly turning to introduce her new friend, only to find the space was empty. The girl had vanished.

   “Huh?” Robin blinked.

   “Where is she, Robin?” Regina asked.

   “I... She was here...” Robin mumbled.

   “Do you think she’s a runaway?” Belle asked quietly.

   “Is she even real?” Zelena snorted, then crouched down. “Robin, was this girl your age?”

   “Yeah. She has blond hair and a blue dress. She was at the park!” Robin explained. “And she can do magic! Real magic, too! Not pretend magic.”

   Regina and Zelena shared a look and sighed. “Okay, Robin. Come on, let’s go back inside.”

   “But what about my friend?” Robin asked.

   “I’m sure she’s fine. She probably just went home to her mummy and daddy.” Zelena explained.

   “She doesn’t have a mummy.” Robin explained as Zelena began to drag her back. She heard Belle mumble something about ‘imaginary’ but didn’t understand why. “Only a daddy.”

   “Well I’m sure she’s gone back to her daddy then.” Zelena sighed.

   “But... But...” Robin stuttered as they stepped back into the diner.

   “Robin. It’s a small town. I’m sure you’ll see her again.” Zelena said impatiently.

   “Okay...” Robin mumbled, sulking slightly as Zelena pushed her onto a seat in the booth closest to the window.

   Robin pouted her lip out, staring out the window. Even when he meat pie was placed in front of her, and even though she wasn’t in trouble for pulling faces at Gideon, Robin found she was no longer in the mood to be out for a meal. She’d much rather be back outside with her friend, instead. Whatever her name was.

   Just then she spotted her.

   Standing by one of the garden bushes next to a nearby house, the girl stood watching her, waiting until Robin spotted her before she reached up and stuck out her tongue, pulling at the corner of her eyes and crossing them at the same time, just like before. Robin beamed and reached up, pinching the skin between her eyes and lips tightly. She tilted her head to the side, completely unnoticed by the busy adults around her, and held the position until the girl began giggling and let her own face drop back to normal. Finally, when their giggles had subsided, the girl gave her a big wave before turning and running off down the street.

   Robin watched her go and didn’t worry too much about her leaving. She didn’t even care that she had forgotten to get her mother to look at her so she could show her the hair she liked so much.

   After all, it was like Zelena said... She’d see her again.


End file.
